


the right words

by traceylane



Category: The Maze Runner (2014), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Apartment AU, M/M, the fire is thomas' fault but no one has to know that especially aris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-04
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-10 11:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3287813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traceylane/pseuds/traceylane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(#raretmrshipsweek, day 4 : a ship involving Aris)</p><p>-thank god for fire alarms and that hot guy who lives in the apartment down the hall au-</p><p>they're evacuating the building at 3 in the morning, for some reason thomas is ecstastic, and that reason is aris jones</p>
            </blockquote>





	the right words

Technically speaking, Thomas didn’t start the fire. Or at least it wasn’t completely his fault.

For instance, he’s pretty sure he’s read somewhere that older bags of popcorn tend to be more flammable. Also a well-known fact: microwaves malfunction all the time. They’re a common household hazard.  

“And,” Thomas continues, “maybe if you weren’t so opposed to the Batman reboot, you could’ve helped me put it out before it triggered the alarm, but _noooo_ , you wanted to go to bed, because for some goddamn reason you can’t get over whatever weird problem you have with Christian fucking Bale!”

He and Minho are standing in the middle of the living room in their apartment, shouting at each other over the blaring evacuation signal and getting drenched by the overhead sprinklers currently ruining their furniture.

“First of all, fuck you.” Minho’s speaking through clenched teeth, either because he’s cold or because he’s furious. Likely both. “Second of all, Christian Bale is one of _many_ problems I have with those movies. Third of all, fuck you _again!_ ”

And then someone’s banging on the door, dissipating the likelihood that the two of them are going to strangle each other, at least for now.

Thomas marches over to it, swings it open.

“What d’you—”

But when he sees who it is the words die in his throat, his shoulders loosen and he leans on the doorframe with fake nonchalance.

“Oh… hey!” He draws his vowels out long. Casual. Cool. “Aris! What’s—what’s going on?” He can hear Minho’s exasperated groan back inside, but the guy from 3C is standing soaked outside his apartment and Thomas’ heart is in his throat and nothing else matters.

“How’s it going? Awesome of you to, uh, to, you know, drop by—we were just—”

“You guys know there’s a _fire_ , right!?” It’s very likely that Aris can’t hear anything that Thomas is saying, considering he’s holding his palms over his ears to block out the screeching. “What are you still doing here!? Everyone else is outside!”

Thomas runs a hand through his dripping hair, not really sure how to react to Aris’ panic while still looking as chill as possible. “Oh, yeah, of course—”

But now it’s certain that Aris can’t hear him, because he grabs Thomas’ wrist and starts pulling him down the hall to the stairwell, “We have to go!”

They’re running, but Thomas takes it in in slow motion—it’s easier to sear into his memory that way. Not that the moment was forgettable—none of the floor’s sprinklers have stopped and he can hear sirens and there are lights flashing in his peripheral vision, shining up to the third floor windows from the parking lot.

And at some point in the last ten seconds Aris had fit their fingers together to keep their slick hands from slipping apart while they dashed down the stairs and Thomas wonders if he’s dreaming.

They make it down to the lobby when Thomas finally looks back at Minho, who’s following close behind, and gives him an open-mouthed smile. _Isn’t this amazing?_

Minho flips him off. 

\--

“Don’t fuck this up for me, dude.”

Minho is sitting cross-legged on the curb, blowing at his herbal tea and huddling under a powder blue quilt, both of which had been gifted to him for the night by Mrs. Aguilar, who lives on the second floor and shows them pictures of her kids whenever they use the same elevator.

He glares up at Thomas. “What could I possibly fuck up that you haven’t already?”

Thomas makes a noise of disbelief, and gestures to the guy talking to a firewoman a few yards away. “Aris, obviously!”

“Like I said,” Minho says, taking a small sip of his drink, “something you _haven’t_ fucked up.”

Thomas ignores him. “I’m gonna ask him out, Minho. Tonight’s the night.”

Minho answers slowly. “It is three. In the morning.” He sounds very bitter about that, but Thomas doesn’t seem to notice.

Instead he repeats, “Tonight is the night.”

And Minho mutters “I literally do not care,” more to himself, really, since Thomas is already puffing up his chest and marching across the asphalt.

So maybe Thomas has had a crush on this guy for a while. It wasn’t love at first sight, though, Thomas isn’t that much of a sap—no, it had happened right _after_ they had introduced themselves, which is completely different.

(The morning Aris moved in Thomas found him in the parking lot struggling to see over a stack of boxes and grab the door handle into the building. Thomas had already been late for work, but of course that stopped mattering after he realized that his new neighbor had arrived with long legs and a sunshine smile and deep dimples in warm brown cheeks.

On their third trip up the elevator, Aris had asked him if he was sure he didn’t have anywhere else more important to be on a Monday afternoon, and Thomas had assured him that no, he did not.)

They hadn’t talked much since then—Aris was a busy guy, at least someone with weird hours, balancing work and school, and Thomas—Thomas just didn’t know how to ask him for an hour of his time without wanting to melt into the floor.

So they only had short conversations whenever they crossed paths as they came and went, and for Thomas it was like falling in love with a jigsaw puzzle—he had bits and pieces, but the whole picture continued to elude him. And he was sure it was going to stay that way—that is, until toni—

“Oof!”

He gets slammed backwards when Aris turns suddenly as Thomas comes up behind him. He nearly falls backwards, but he’s caught by a hand that wraps around his wrist for the second time tonight.

“Jesus, I’m sorry, man—”

“I’m Thomas,” Thomas gasps when he’s righted himself before mentally slapping himself in the face, _you idiot._

But Aris smiles, laughs lightly, says “Yeah, I know, we’ve met before.”

“I was—you held my hand earlier. I mean—”

“I remember,” Aris says, looking a little confused, but smiling a little wider, and Thomas wants to get down on his knees and ask the universe for a redo.

“I—right. Sorry.”

“I heard you guys shouting from down the hall.”

“Oh… yeah, that—that happens.”

“Even at risk of dying in a fire?”

“I mean, the sprinklers were on, so, not like we were in any real danger.”

And Aris laughs, and there’s no way that Thomas is not dreaming.

“Well—I’m glad I got you down here anyway.”

“Same.” Thomas sticks his hands in his pockets, hopes it’s dark enough out for his blush to go unnoticed.

After a bit of a pause—and it’s during these pauses that Thomas usually retreats back into his apartment or into an elevator, so the fact that they’re still standing next to each other is already kind of a big deal—Thomas says, “Sorry if the alarm woke you up, or anything.”

Aris laughs again. “Why are you sorry? It’s not like it’s your fault.”

Thomas swallows. “Y-yeah, it’s definitely not!” (He promises himself he’ll confess someday. Not today, though.)

“But, um—my roommate is kind of pissed that it’s three AM, so I thought you probably would be too.”

Aris shrugs. “I was studying, actually, so this was as good a time as any for a break.”

“You were studying? At three in the morning?”

“You can’t tell me you’ve never pulled an all-nighter like that,” Aris presses.

“Of course I have, and I hate myself for it.”

They both laugh at that, and their shoulders brush in the way they do when you’re already standing so close to another person that the smallest sways bring you together.

It gives Thomas a burst of confidence, and he says, “Well, if you’re ever doing homework and need company or a change of scenery or whatever, I’m—er, we’re just down the hall. Can’t promise we won’t be distracting, though.”

Aris blinks at him. “Yes. Yeah, absolutely—thank you. That’s—thanks.”

His face is flushed—Thomas isn’t sure why and it shows, so Aris explains, “Sorry. I just haven’t had time to spend with anyone since I started the semester, and living in the new place, it’s been kind of—” He stops, and Thomas wonders if it’s this cute whenever he’s at a bit of a loss for words. Probably not.

“I’ve been trying to come up with how to ask if you wanted to hang out, but I don’t really understand apartment etiquette, and I don’t know if it would’ve been weird—”

“You boys look freezing,” a voice says, and Mrs. Aguilar is standing next to them, holding up a forest green blanket.

“Oh, no, that’s—” Thomas almost finishes turning her away, until he realizes that both he and Aris are shivering. Standing outside in the dark with wet clothes apparently doesn’t fare well for body temperatures.

“I mean—thank you, Mrs. Aguilar. But—” He glances at Aris, “—is there—is there only one left?”

“You can share!” she says cheerfully, as if this is the most obvious thing in the world.

Now Aris looks back at him, and then takes the blanket himself. “Sure. Thank you.”

“Of course,” she says, and then ambles away to hand out more tea or to play matchmaker with someone else.

Thomas turns back to Aris. “We don’t really have to share,” he says seriously, “I’m okay.”

But Aris shakes the blanket out, pulls it around his left shoulder and tosses the other half over Thomas’ right. “I can see your breath, dude. I’m not toxic or anything.”

Thomas smiles, then concedes, tugging the other edge of the blanket over his arm and chest. Aris does the same, and they stand in the parking lot, folded together. 

“It wouldn’t have been weird,” Thomas says after a while. “Our door’s always open.”

“Thanks,” Aris breathes, and Thomas has to physically restrain himself from wrapping his arms around him then and there.

“Yo, Thomas!”

Thomas turns, and Minho is approaching, rubbing at his eyes like he just woke up from his place on the sidewalk. “They’re letting us go back in.”

And, to save Aris any awkwardness, they have a small argument with just their eyes and gestures.

_Do I not look busy to you?_

_Do I look like I care?_

_Just this once. Let me live._

A pause, then a roll of the eyes. _Fine._

 “Why don’t you guys get breakfast or something?” Minho suggests out loud. “I’ll hold the fort and we can dry everything out tomorrow.”

Aris raises an eyebrow, already confused from the silent dialogue he just witnessed and failed to understand. “It’s—it’s three AM. Almost four now.”

Minho shrugs, hands in his pockets. “Thomas knows a place.”

Aris looks over at Thomas. “You’re not tired?”

“Nope. Starving, though. You?”

“Same.”

They share a smile, and wonder at the same time if they could ever come to have those wordless conversations, too. Someday, they hope.

Minho cuts in on their moment, addressing his roommate.

“You—pay for the meal.”

Thomas’ grin turns into a glower, “I know, God!”

“Don’t come back without food for me.”

Thomas rolls his eyes “Any other requests?”

“Don’t set anything else on fire.”

Thomas’ eyes widen and Aris says “What?”, but in a literal blink Thomas is leading him away.

“Nothing, that was nothing, let’s go—I hope you like waffles.”

**Author's Note:**

> ((You might not have read this with luke pasqualino as your faceclaim for aris, but that’s how I wrote it lmao, so idk))
> 
> Of course of course OF COURSE dedicated to tumblr users punkassaris and vennieandroxie –THIS IS YOUR FAULT. [LOUD CRYING NOISES] ALSO—for that anon that wanted a “the fire alarm went off at 3am and now the cute guy from the flat next door is standing next to me in his underwear” au—no underwear, but other criteria met B)
> 
> again, SUPER unedited because I wanted to get as much done for this week as possible. Y’all should lecture me on aris characterization bc I clearly have no idea I DID MY BEST PLS DON’T THROw things at me
> 
> also—thomas and minho as roommates in literally any au I don’t even give a shit fight me
> 
> also posted on tumblr ayy
> 
>  
> 
> [HAPPY RARETMRSHIPS WEEK!! WHEE](http://raretmrshipsweek.tumblr.com)


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